Regions of FtsZ important for self-interaction in Staphylococcus aureus

Since FtsZ is structurally similar to eukaryotic tubulin, selective regions of S. aureus FtsZ have been swapped with equivalent regions from tubulin. These mutant FtsZ proteins were analyzed for their interaction with both wi ldtype FtsZ and FtsA using the yeast two-hybrid assay. Specific regions wer e identified which abrogated FtsZ-FtsZ binding but unaffected the FtsA-FtsZ interaction. This work will further our understanding of the regions of Ft sZ critical for its physiological role. (C) 2001 Academic Press.